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Leaving Reece to stand where he was near the sofa, Jess frantically searched the room, lifting things in her wake.
“What are you doing now?” he asked, puzzled.
“Looking for my car keys.”
“Why?”
“I’m going out.”
“Jess, I was serious when I said that if you run away from me, I’m going to chase you down.” In all answer, she walked inside the bathroom and closed the door. Half a minute later she came out with her key –how in God’s name had it ended up on the shelf above the sink?, and purposely walked towards the door.
Reece grabbed her arm, yanking her close to his chest. “Where are you going?”
“What is this? A third grade?” she snapped spitefully, managing to shove away from him.
Her eyes shot darts of fire. Maybe he’d pushed her a little too far over the edge by declaring his intentions, giving Jess no other option but to bend to his will. But he wasn’t sure what stunts she’d pull in her present state of mind and she wasn’t going to leave the cabin without him knowing where she was going.
“Jessica,” he said with great patience.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Jess stared at him. A terse silence stretched between them for a good full minute. Their eyes engaged in a tug-of-war.
“Grocery,” she explained at last. “We need more food if you’re going to be my ‘guest’” she almost spat out the word, “for the next three days, won’t we?” The sarcasm in her voice seemed to leave Reece unaffected, fueling her anger.
“Yes. LeeHanne told me about your business appointment next week. Besides, I need to go back to my own work too. If you give me a sec, I’ll come with you.”
“Afraid I’ll run away, otherwise?”
“No, bored by the scenery,” he countered mockingly. Her catty tone was clearly starting to grate on his nerves. Jess rejoiced.
“It’s not my fault you don’t like it here. I never asked you to come to Alaska, and you knew from previous experience that all you’d get in Fairbanks was crazy weather, bitter cold, and very few social activities, when you invited yourself tomylog cabin.”
Her reference to what had occurred last time they were there together didn’t go unnoticed to Reece whose eyes as usual, were like a mirror reflecting back to her, in striking details, all they’d done. Many of those memories unfortunately were connected to some very gratifying petting it wasn’t the time to rehash just now. That was why Jess distracted herself opening her purse, pretending to check if her wallet was inside.
“Jess, I must warn you that I am seriously trying to keep from placing you face down on my lap and spanking your cute little bottom.”
Their eyes locked.
“Ha, ha , ha,” she mocked, unaffected by the warning note ill-concealed in his words.
“We’ll talk about this later when you’d go over your anger at yourself for liking me being here.”
She was speechless, and tried a couple times to mouth her outrage, but not a word came out. The boastful swine.
“Have you got a pen and a piece of paper?” he inquired.
“To do what?” she asked suspiciously.
“To write down a list of what food I dislike so that when you are at the supermarket, you won’t waste time and money buying things I don’t eat.”
“Send me a list on my phone,” she icily returned. He was patronizing her, using the same tone of voice of a parent repeating for the umpteenth time to his slow child, that the neighbor’s dog tail had to be left alone, or the poor animal would bite.
Taking a moment, she looked at him, pensive. “One minute you’re threatening me, the next you say you’re bored with the scenery and want a change. Then you decide the cabin interior is not so bad after all. Why is that?”
“Suffice it to say, I changed my mind.”
That was all the enlightenment she got. Seeing that Reece considered the argument closed, Jess moved to the front door. What game was he paying out this time? When was the Big Bad Wolf going to eat Granny? She guessed she would soon find out.
“Have fun,” he called after her as she left.
